Dave Hughes took a pay cut when he learned co-host Kate Langbroek earned less than him

Dave 'Hughesy' Hughes took a pay cut when he learned of the massive discrepancy between he and co-host Kate Langbroek's salaries.

The duo made the candid revelation on their KIIS FM show Tuesday afternoon after playing a clip from a show earlier this year where they discussed the fact that Kate was earning significantly less than Hughesy.

"You don't know about this," Kate, 52, said during their March 8 episode on International Women's Day. "I found out last year that you get paid 40 per cent more than I do for doing this show."

Hughesy, 46, replied, "I had no idea what we get paid. Now I feel terrible."

"You don't need to feel terrible," Kate said. "It wasn't your fault that you were born with two oranges in a string bag [testicles]… In all that time I have adored you, it's not about you, it's just about the recognition of us and what we do."

Dave Hughes and Kate Langbroek; Image: AAP

Hughesy says the discussion left him "reeling".

"We've never discussed money over our journey together," he said Tuesday. "But now we do."

When Kate learned of the pay discrepancy, she raised the issue with their KIIS FM bosses and received the same pay as Hughesy for the remainder of 2016.

And although Hughesy's salary had reportedly already been locked in for 2017 at a higher rate than Kate, the host offered to take a pay cut so that Kate could receive an equal paycheck.

Next year, the team will move from KIIS FM to Southern Cross Austero next year – and they've made sure their pay parity will carry over.

"I couldn't be happier, obviously," Hughesy said. "You deserve it… Sometimes that might mean men might get paid less than what they might have got to make, sure, [but] what's fair is fair."

And Kate is calling on more men to take a stand for equal pay.

"You told [network bosses] you wanted to be on parity this year with me, and [Karl] Stefanovic presumably didn't," she said to Hughesy on-air.

"Now, I'm not saying he doesn't do more and that he doesn't deserve it... but what I'm saying is that if you're going to have a working partnership with someone, if you really care about women not being paid the same, men have to stand up and make it happen. Because men are the ones who are drawing up the pay packets, generally."

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